I just blogged to say I am sorry

I can't even describe how busy I am right now. I started the new job, and I've been coming in super-early and been leaving quite late. My brain is throbbing with new information. On a side note, I am now a redhead (from resulting brain hemorrhages) - pictures to come soon. On top of a grueling work schedule, I've started my intensive intersession class for my MBA. There is no end to homework and assignments. So that's what I do in my free time. Oh, the only thing I am able to squeeze in is to edit my husband's final papers for his law school classes. We are both so exhausted.
I am hoping everything dies down soon so I can once again focus on my own physical and mental well-being. And blogging... I know you've been waiting (I received a text this morning from a certain someone scolding me for not updating my blog.)
So, in cyber chat terms, BRB.

Random happenings this weekend

There is really no theme to this blog post. Instead, I'll just show you what I did over the weekend.

1) Saw "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" movie with S on Sunday. We give it two thumbs up.
2) Moved from my old job (see cube below)......to my new job with a much prettier cube - with natural light and a view...
...and more space. I am moving on up!
3) Saw "Date Night" with my sisters and S.
And AJ joined us, too (Ami and Adji don't look too thrilled, and S is about to punch him - lol, kidding. We like AJ. He's one of the girls). The movie was super-funny. We laughed and laughed and laughed.
(Ovaj smo vikend išle u kino. Ja sam isto promijenila posao pa sam stavila slike moga starog i mog novog biroa.)

"Mom, get out of the kitchen!"

Another Tuesday spent with family. My sisters and I cooked dinner - something really yummy from the Clean Eating magazine.

We split up the tasks and it usually goes pretty quick. It ended up being delicious (and healthy)!

While we were cooking, our dad was toasting bread and taking pictures. We made our mom stay away from the kitchen, so she knitted. She finished a little hat and a pair of booties for our cousin. This stuff is beyond cute.
(U utorak smo se opet skupili kao familija. Ja i cure smo pravile veceru, tata nas je slikao, a mama je plela kapicu i carapice za Keninu bebicu. Bilo nam je bas lijepo.)

Laundry, closets and Italiano

I spent most of the day doing laundry and then organizing our closets. There were plenty of clothes that ended up in a container in the basement (hello, Goodwill!) and then there were some new discoveries, as well ("when did I buy this?"). There is nothing like clean, organized, and uncluttered closets. I also organized hubby's side (bleh). You can't see it on this pic, but I divided his "everyday clothes" from the "lawyer clothes" and found out that he has over 15 pairs of slacks and an assortment of ties that would impress any well-dressed businessman. My hubby either dresses really well, or he dresses like a lumberjack (check out those plaid shirts).
I also had a nightmare last night that the date of my Italy trip crept up before I was ready. I spent the entire night frantically packing and looking for stuff I'd need (in my dream, of course). So to put my mind at ease, I studied some Italian and went over my itinerary the next morning. Ho intenzione di essere preparati!
I am still watching my calories and exercising. Yesterday I went to the gym and did some jogging for half an hour. It completely wiped me out. I've had a sour stomach all day, so I didn't do any more, but I am still very happy with the work I put in this weekend. I weighed myself in just to make sure my Monday weight < or = Friday weight, and lo and behold, I lost 2 whole pounds! I will do an official weigh-in next Friday.

A great start

Not much going on today. Exercised in the morning, went grocery shopping, and then I mostly cooked and cleaned our home.

Rode my bike to the gym this morning; spent 30 minutes walking on the treadmill. I wanted to jog/run, but my knees and heels were screaming from pain, so I just walked briskly.

Daily fitness stats:
Average heart rate: 130bpm (67% of THR); Maximum heart rate: 142bpm (73% of THR); Distance: 1.89 miles;
Pace: 16:43 mile

Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi GoLean cereal with 1/2 cup 1% milk; small banana; water
Mid-morning snack: 22 almonds
Lunch: 1 black bean burger, 1-oz slice part-skim mozzarella, 1 slice tomato, 1 bibb lettuce leaf, 1 Arnold thins whole wheat bun; 1 orange; 1 oz "Garden of Eatin'" baked blue tortilla chips; water Afternoon snack: 1 low-fat string cheese with 2 rye crispbreads
Dinner: 1 serving salmon & artichoke quasedilla (Clean Eating magazine recipe) with 1/4 cup low-sodium salsa; 1 cup chopped cantaloupe; silver needle green tea
Nutrition for the day: Calories: 1,549; Fat: 44g; Sat. fat: 7g; Carbs: 214g; Fiber: 45g; Sugar: 61g; Protein: 95g; Sodium: 1,728mg; Cholesterol: 74mg

Let's do it again!

I am just about to drop a bomb, so brace yourselves. (And please be gentle!)

In the past, I used to blog about my weight loss progress. I was down to 160 pounds at one point. Well, then my thyroid wreaced havoc on my system over the winter, and despite my continued diet and exercise, I gained over 20 pounds in one month. One month!! (I'll let you absorb that for a moment.)

As anyone with this condition can testify, once you see that all your efforts produce absolutely no results, you get depressed (another symptom of hypothyroiditism) and discouraged. And then you stop exercising as before and stop dilligently logging every calorie eaten. That is what happened to me, which then made things even worse.

Luckily, I went to the doctor and had my thyroid levels re-checked, and my medicine dosage was increased to make up for the measly amount of hormones my thyroid was producing. I am starting to have a lot more energy now, and am ready to take it on all over again.

It's time to get my calorie intake in check, and to increase my cardio activity (I never stopped doing my 2-3 strength training sessions per week.)

And then yesterday, I had lunch with Professor Under 200 and discovered that she has been blogging about her weight loss (check her out - she is hilarious). It inspired me to do it all again, and this time, I will watch out for those evil symptoms and will visit the doctor sooner rather than waiting and letting things get really bad.

My trainer challenged me to record my weight on Friday and then again on Monday, and make sure Monday weight is equal to or less than the Friday number. It will make me accountable over the weekend. (I have already canceled a dinner at my favorite pizza place with my bff Spomi tonight- so there!)

And here is the truth as of 10pm on this Friday night, April 16th, 2010 (reader discretion advised - this is not for those faint of heart):

Okay - so it's no secret that I've gained weight - keeping this a secret doesn't change the fact that I've gotten pretty chubby. But now that I know you all know it, I want to make that number smaller. So if you catch me binging, please do me a favor and scold me. I won't hold it against you.

Progress update on my knitting

There hasn't been much going on, so I decided to update you on my knitting. I know you are dying to see it.
Here is "Cate" - I've started on the cables. Hoping to soon have a finished back.
I frogged the drop stitch scarf and instead decided to use this pretty yarn on a baby double-breasted coat. Love the colors. It's called "rainbow dust". (Evo pletem sebi džember i počela sam isto plesti malu jaknu za bebicu jedne prijateljice.)